Arrangements of such emergency oxygen devices of the aforementioned type are used for a number of purposes where temporary or permanent supply of oxygen to a human person is necessary. A particular field of application of such emergency oxygen devices is the field of aircraft, wherein a pressure drop within an aircraft flying at high altitudes may make it necessary to supply the passengers and the crew members with oxygen. Usually, an emergency oxygen device is provided for each crew member and each passenger or a group thereof and is usually arranged above the passenger. In case of an emergency, such emergency oxygen device is activated, for example automatically by a cabin pressure monitoring system or manually by a crew member, whereafter an oxygen mask connected via a hose to an oxygen source falls from above the passenger downwards and can be used by the passenger. The flow of oxygen may be started automatically, by activation of the system by the crew member or may be activated by a particular action undertaken by the passenger, e.g. by pulling the mask downwards himself to thus activate the device by a pulling force transferred via a hose guiding the oxygen flow or an additional lanyard coupled to the oxygen mask.
Emergency oxygen devices of the aforementioned type known from the state of the art are connected to the aircraft energy system and receive the energy needed to activate the emergency oxygen device from this aircraft energy system. In many emergency cases cabin pressure drop goes together with other defects on the aircraft, e.g. damage of a turbine or other damages. In such an emergency case it is essential to save as much energy as possible. The activation of a plurality of emergency oxygen devices in a passenger cabin of an aircraft may cause an undesirable high peak of energy consumption, which may cause a total breakdown of the aircraft energy system.